MAY APPLE. 87 
in which character it deserves a high rank among 
our indigenous productions. We have hardly any 
native plant which answers better the common 
purposes of jalap, aloes and rhubarb, and which 
is more safe and mild in its operation. The root 
is the part to be employed, and should be given 
in substance in fine powder. I have commonly 
found twenty grains to operate with efficacy, and 
not to be attended with pain or inconvenience. 
In irritable stomachs it sometimes occasions nau- 
sea and vomiting, but this effeet, as is well known, 
may ensue from any cathartic medicine. The late — 
Professor Barton informs us, that although. the 
root is an excellent cathartic, the leaves are poi- 
sonous, and the whole plant has something of a 
narcotic quality. Its botanical affinities would 
justify, a priori, a suspicion of this kind. In the 
various trials which I have made with it, 1 have 
not observed any such property in the root. The 
leaves I have never subjected to experiment for 
any purpose. | | 
The fruit is acid and agreeable to the taste of 
many persons. It is sometimes called wild lem- 
ons, and is eaten with impunity. | ; 
The root is said by some physicians to be a 
medicine particularly suited to dropsy. It has 
